Next Mercedes-Benz A-Class coming to America: report

At the moment, the entry point to the Mercedes-Benz range in the United States is the CLA, which was launched there in 2013 and originally started under the magic $30k mark before delivery costs. However, the A-Class has been the entry model for the German luxury brand in much of the rest of the world for some time now, which is why there has been constant speculation over when or if the A-Class would ever be offered to American buyers. Well, it seems the time is now coming as Mercedes has been preparing its dealers for the arrival of the all-new A-Class next year.

Although the A-Class is a small car and compacts are struggling to find buyers in the US at the moment due to continuing low fuel prices, luxury compacts are actually doing quite well, so now should be as good a time as any to finally launch it. Mercedes isn't yet officially announcing its intention to sell the new A-Class in the US to the wider world, but reports indicate that officials from the German automaker did confirm it at a meeting of dealers in Miami recently.

Even though the A-Class is currently known as a hatchback at the moment, and the new 2018 model for Europe is also set to follow that format, it seems the model planned for American dealers will be an all-new sedan variant. The hatchback format is traditionally regarded as being unpopular with American buyers, which is why the A-Class hasn't made it across the Atlantic so far. Although a sedan version is vital to making the new car a success in the States, this new format for the entry-level Mercedes is also expected to be offered in China and other markets too.

Spy shots of what's believed to be the 2018 A-Class hatchback have been widely circulated recently, but a concept that's likely to be the blueprint for the A-Class Sedan was shown by Mercedes as recently as April in Shanghai.

Stephanie Brinley, who is an analyst with industry forecaster IHS Markit, says the A-class sedan is expected to be offered for sale in the US in September 2018, and that by as soon as 2020, the A-Class could represent as much as five percent of the brand's US sales.

On top of the A-Class sedan, Mercedes also showed dealers at the Miami event an AMG GT four-door high-performance variant of the sedan, and confirmed they will also have that to offer to their customers in the summer of 2018.